St Patrick's Day Brawl Sees 16 Ejected From NJ Transit Train

Sixteen people were ejected from an NJ Transit train on the Bergen/Port Jervis railway line after a brawl Saturday.

The train had just departed Secaucus, heading northward, at 4:20 p.m. EDT when a number of passengers began fighting, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. The train was forced to make an unscheduled stop at the East Rutherford station, where authorities dealt with the incident.

Following the unscheduled stop, the 16 people were tossed from the train, with two given court summons for disorderly conduct. One passenger was treated by emergency medical service personnel, but no major injuries were reported as a result of the brawl.

No other trains were affected by the incident.

Because of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, NJ Transit banned alcohol on trains from Hoboken to New York.

The incident Saturday is far from the first St. Patrick’s Day-related brawl to take place on an NJ Transit train. On St. Patrick’s Day last year, the transit agency's police force made 16 arrests, two of them involving aggravated assaults of train conductors, according to the Asbury Park Press of Neptune.

“Whether you are gathering with friends at the local pub or attending a parade, if alcohol is part of the festivities, make sure you designate a sober driver to get you home safely,” Gary Poedubicky, the acting director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said in a statement. “You’ll not only be ensuring your safety, but the safety of everyone else who is sharing the road with you.”